Adjustable support device

ABSTRACT

An adjustable support device (1) that can be attached to a ceiling or a wall to provide a simple, multi-purpose storage system. The device is used in connection with a cord (7) having one end held within a hollow body portion (3) and having the other free end threaded through first, second and third openings (21, 23, 25) that communicate with the interior of the device, to form a loop (9) external to, and supported by the device. Means for locking (17) the cord are provided in the device, so that pulling on the external loop does not alter the length of the loop, whereas pulling on the free end (14) of the cord shortens the loop. The device is provided with a hook member (11) adapted to cooperate with the body portion to support the external loop.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an adjustable support device forattachment to a surface. It relates particularly, but not exclusively,to a device which is attachable to a ceiling or a wall for supporting agreat diversity of objects by means of an elongate flexible memberassociated with the device and/or a hook member which may be integralwith the device.

The present invention was developed with a view to providing a simple,low cost, multi-purpose storage system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

There is commonly available a very wide variety of cup hooks, nails,pegs, knobs, brackets and other support fixtures from which amultiplicity of household and garage items may be suspended. Sucharrangements are well suited for supporting objects provided with arecess or a loop which may be hooked over a protruding portion of thesupport fixture. If no such provision is made on the object then it isnecessary to use wire or string tied to the object to form a loop whichmay be hooked onto the support fixture.

These known methods of storage have certain disadvantages and are oftenunsafe as they rely on the availability of string or wire and on theintegrity of the tied knots or the twisted wires. An object suspendedfrom the cup hook or peg by wire or string can easily be knocked off itssupport. Furthermore such hooks, brackets and other support fixtures areof limited utility and tend to protrude substantially from the surfaceto which they are attached, and may therefore cause bodily injury ordamage to clothing when not in use.

The present invention is an improvement over such prior art supportfixtures and attempts to overcome one or more of the abovementionedproblems.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided an adjustablesupport device for attachment to a surface, said device comprising:

a body portion having a passage extending therethrough, said passagebeing adapted to receive an elongate flexible element therein;

means provided in connection with said body portion for retaining oneend of such an elongate flexible element whereby, in use, an elongateflexible element can be arranged in said passage and held at one end bysaid retaining means, a portion of said flexible element forming a loopexternal to and supported by, said device and wherein, in use, thelength of said loop may be adjusted by pulling on a portion of theflexible element extending from said passage.

Preferably said body portion is hollow and said passage communicateswith the interior of said body portion.

Preferably the passage extends between first and second openingsprovided on opposite sides of the device and the device is provided withan elongate flexible element having one end held in the retaining meansand having the free end threaded through the first opening and thesecond opening to form a loop external to, and supported by the device.

In a preferred embodiment the elongate flexible element is a cord.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention can be more clearly ascertained a preferredembodiment of the support device according to the present invention willnow be described, by way of example only, with reference to theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the support deviceattached to a wall by means of a single screw;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates one application of the preferred embodiment of thedevice shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates a second application of the same embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a perspective rear view of the support device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 showing apreferred arrangement of a cord inside the body of the device;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the same embodiment attached to a horizontalsurface;

FIG. 8 is a side view of a picture frame suspended from the supportdevice in the conventional manner;

FIG. 9 illustrates an alternative method of suspending a picture frameusing the same support device;

FIG. 10 illustrates a further application of the present inventioncomprising a bookshelf; and,

FIG. 11 is a side view of the bookshelf illustrated in FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown generally at 1 a preferredembodiment of the support device according to the present invention.Support device 1 comprises a body portion 3, and a hook member 11 formedintegral therewith and extending outwards therefrom and curved towardsthe surface on which the support device is attached. The device iscontoured to have an egg-shaped profile, though of course anyaesthetically pleasing external appearance may be adopted. In FIG. 2there is shown located substantially centrally of the support device ahole 12 through which a screw, a bolt, a nail or other attaching meansmay be provided for attachment of the device to a ceiling or a wallsurface.

In an alternative embodiment the support device 1 is provided with anadhesive substance instead of hole 12, for attaching the device to asurface. This alternative embodiment is particularly suited to domesticapplications where objects to be supported by the device are lightweightand where drilling a hole into the wall or ceiling surface may beundesirable.

The body portion 3 of the device is provided with a passage extendingtherethrough, shown generally at 5 in FIG. 1, through which there may beprovided a cord 7 forming a loop 9 external to the device. In thisembodiment the cord 7 is held at one end interior of the device and theother free end is threaded through a further opening provided at thebottom end of the device and extends downward forming a cord tail 14. Inan alternative arrangement (not illustrated) the free end of cord 7 issimply threaded back through the passage 5 and there is no need for afurther opening. The operation of the preferred embodiment of thesupport device may be more readily understood by reference to FIGS. 5and 6 showing the reverse side of the preferred embodiment of thesupport device according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5 there is shown a perspective view of the rear sideof the support device 1 in which the shape of a cavity 15, provided inthe hollow body portion 3 of the device, may be clearly seen. Passage 5comprises first and second openings 21 and 23 located substantiallyopposite to one another on first and second sides of the devicerespectively. Passage 5 also communicates with the cavity 15 of the bodyportion 3. There is also provided a retaining means 13, located withinthe cavity 15, comprising an ear-shaped socket 27 in which one end of acord provided with the device may be held. In this embodiment there isalso provided a third opening 25 located at the bottom end of thedevice 1. The support device 1 may be made from any suitable materialand is most economically made from a plastics material using a knownmoulding manufacturing process. It is preferable that the dimensionsmarked at A, B, C and D in FIG. 5 are manufactured so as to be less thanthe diameter of the cord provided with the device. This would facilitateholding of the cord in correct positions both during installation andafter assembly.

However, for ease of manufacture, each of the gaps A, B, C and D may beequal to the maximum diameter of the respective openings so as to formU-shaped channels. A cord associated with the device would then be freeto move out of the respective openings until the device was attached toa surface to enclose the cavity 15 of the device.

In FIG. 6 the device 1 is shown with the cord 7 in the preferredconfiguration. One end of the cord 7, which is preferably made fromnylon, is molten to form an enlarged portion which is received in thesocket 27 of the retaining means 13. The cord 7 extends from theretaining means 13 into the cavity 15 and out of the first opening 21 toform an internal loop 29 within the cavity 15. The other free end of thecord 7 forming the external loop 9 enters the second opening 23 on theopposite side of the device 1, passes through the internal loop 29 andout of the third opening 25 to form the cord tail 14. The interior loop29 cooperates with the socket 27 to form a locking means 17 in thisembodiment of the device 1. When the external loop 9 is pulled, the cordportion extending from the first opening 21 is pulled and tightens theloop 29 around cord portion 31, effectively preventing movement of thecord portion 31 and thereby locking the length of the external loop 9.If more force is applied to the external loop 9 this only furthertightens the interior loop 29 locking the cord portion 31. If it isdesired to change the length of the external loop 9 then the lockingmeans 17 may be released by pulling on either the cord tail 14 ordirectly on the cord portion extending from the second opening 23, whichhas the effect of respectively shortening or lengthening the externalloop 9.

The simple arrangement of the retaining means 13 and locking means 17illustrated in FIG. 6 has been found to operate very well in practiceprovided that suitable cord 17 is employed. Although a nylon cord isused in this embodiment, any elongate flexible element such as a cable,a wire, a chain, a tape or cord of any other suitable flexible materialmay be employed. In applications where a large force will be applied tothe exterior loop 9, for example when supporting a heavy object,alternative retaining means and locking means may be provided to ensurea secure support. The embodiment illustrated is advantageous insofar asit has no moving parts and requires only the addition of the cord 7 tobe used, and a screw or bolt for passing through the hole 12 in order toattach the device 1 to a surface. However, in an alternative arrangement(not illustrated) the device may have a ratchet-type locking means forlocking the external loop 9 when a force is applied thereto, but whichmay be released when the free end of cord 7 is pulled. Such aratchet-type locking means is commonly used to lock window blinds in anopen position. Similarly, the retaining means may be provided by a screwor nail to which the cord is tied.

Now that the basic configuration and operation of a preferred embodimentof the support device has been described, a very wide number ofapplications of the device will be immediately apparent. A number ofpossible applications are illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4, 8, 9, 10 and 11.

Referring to FIG. 3 there is illustrated one application of the supportdevice 1 involving threading the external loop 9 of the cord through thehandle of a common garden implement 32 and then lifting the loop 9 upover the hook member 11 of the device 1. The loop 9 is prevented fromextending by means of the locking means 13 provided within the device 1and in this way effectively providing two external loops with which anobject may be supported. This method of employing the support devicesuggests a multitude of alternative domestic, garden, garage and otherstorage applications. One alternative application of the device usingthis method of support is illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 showsa perspective view of a shelf supported by two support devices 1attached to a wall. The loop 9 supported by the device extends downwardsaround the wooden shelf 33 and is hooked up over the hook member 11 ofeach device 1. FIG. 11 is a side view of the same shelving arrangementshown in FIG. 10. There is normally no problem with slippage unlesssubstantial weight is concentrated on the outermost edge of the shelf.If this is considered a problem then a simple solution is the provisionof a small plastic or metal fitting attached to the loop 9 near theoutermost edge of the wooden shelf 33. Such a fitting 35 is illustratedin the enlarged portion shown in FIG. 11. The height of the shelfrelative to the device 1 may be conveniently adjusted by lengthening orshortening the loop 9 in the manner previously described. Cord tails 14may be cut off or tucked out of sight if necessary.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative manner of using the device accordingto the invention in which the loop 9 is used to directly support anobject inserted therethrough. A brush 37 is placed with the handleinserted through the loop 9 which is tightened around the handle bypulling on the cord tail 14. Again many alternative applications may beenvisaged using this method of supporting an object, includingsituations where the object is supported on the ground and requiresmeans for preventing movement away from an adjacent wall. One or more ofthe devices 1 may be provided on the adjacent wall having their loops 9extending around the object to be secured.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate yet another application of the support deviceaccording to the present invention. In FIG. 8 there is shown a side viewof a picture frame hung in a conventional manner, whereby the supportwire of the picture frame is simply hooked over the hook member of thesupport device 1. The loop 9 is then available to support another objectdirectly below the picture frame. FIG. 9 illustrates an alternativemethod of supporting a picture frame wherein the loop 9 of the supportdevice 1 passes through cup hooks 37 provided on the back of the pictureframe. This method of hanging a picture on the wall has the furtheradvantage that the height of the picture may be conveniently adjusted bylengthening or shortening the loop 9 in the manner previously described.Pulling on the cord tail 14 will shorten the loop and thereby raise thepicture to the required height.

The support device according to the present invention is not limited toapplications requiring attachment to a vertical surface, and may also beconveniently attached to a horizontal surface such as a horizontalceiling beam or other framework. FIG. 7 illustrates attachment of adevice 1 to a horizontal surface using a nut and bolt 39 for improvedsecurity of the attachment to the surface. As with the applicationspreviously described the loop 9 may be used to directly support anobject or it may be extended around an object and hooked over the hookmember 11 thereby effectively providing support by means of two loopsinstead of one. FIG. 7 also shows a transverse cross-section view takenthrough the device 1 at the point A, illustrating the triangulated shapeof the section in line with the hole 12 through which a screw or boltmay be provided for attaching the device to a surface. The shape of thissection gives increased strength to the device 1 at the point ofattachment to a ceiling or wall surface. The support device 1 may bedesigned so that cord portions of the loop 9 pass as closely aspracticable to the point A shown in FIG. 7, thereby minimizing theleverage applied to the device 1 about the point of attachment, andreducing the possibility of breakage.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings the lockingmeans 17 and the holding means 13 are both provided within the cavity 15of the body portion 3 of the support device 1 thereby enabling theoverall profile of the device 1 to be relatively unobtrusive. Thesmoothly contoured external surface of the support device 1 may besuitably coloured or decorated to match with the interior decor of theroom in which it is to be used, and also virtually eliminates thepossibility of bodily injury or damage to clothing when the device isnot in use. The support device 1 according to the present invention maybe manufactured in a variety of sizes and because of its relatively lowprofile it may be particularly useful in many marine applicationsbecause of the need to keep dangerous protrusions in the cockpit, deckareas or below decks to a minimum.

Now that a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described indetail it will be apparent that a number of alterations andmodifications may be made without departing from the basic structure ofthe invention. For example, the shape of the passage and the cavitywithin the body of the device need not be as illustrated. Furthermorethe means for holding an end of the elongate flexible element and thelocking facility may be provided by alternative arrangements eitherinternal or external to the body portion 3 of the device. The number andposition of the openings communicating with the interior of the cavity15 in the body portion 3 of the device need also not be as illustratedin the preferred embodiment.

All such modifications and variations are to be considered within thescope of the present invention the nature of which is to be determinedfrom the foregoing description and the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. An adjustable support device having a substantially planarface and having mounting means permitting said face to be abutted withand attached to a surface, said device comprising:a body portion havingan elongate passage extending therethrough, said passage being adaptedto receive an elongate flexible element therein; retaining meansprovided internally of the body portion and terminating with saidpassage for retaining one end of such an elongate flexible elementtherein whereby, in use, said elongate flexible element can be arrangedin said passage and held at one end by said retaining means, a portionof said flexible element forming a loop external to, and supported bysaid device and wherein, in use, the length of said loop may be adjustedby pulling on a portion of the flexible element extending form saidpassage.
 2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said passage extendsbetween first and second openings located substantially opposite to oneanother on first and second sides of th device respectively.
 3. A deviceas claimed in claim 2, wherein a further opening is provided on a thirdside of the device which communicates with said passage.
 4. A device asclaimed in claim 3, provided with an elongate flexible element havingone end held in said retaining means and having the other free endthreaded through said first opening and said second opening to form aloop external to, and supported by, the device.
 5. A device as claimedin claim 4, wherein said free end of the flexible element is alsothreaded through said further opening whereby, in use, pulling said freeend shortens said external loop.
 6. A device as claimed in claim 1,wherein there is further provided means for locking the flexible elementwhereby, in use, pulling on said external loop does not substantiallyalter the length of the external loop.
 7. A device as claimed in claim5, wherein said elongate flexible element is a cord.
 8. A device asclaimed in claim 7, wherein said retaining means comprises a socketadapted to receive an enlarged portion of said one end of the cordwhereby, in use, when said device is attached to a surface said one endof the cord is held firmly in said socket.
 9. A device as claimed inclaim 8, wherein said socket is located adjacent to the first openingand said free end of the cord is threaded through said first opening toform an internal loop, and wherein the free end of the cord is threadedback in through said second opening, through said internal loop and backout again through said further opening whereby, in use, pulling on saidexternal loop causes the internal loop to tighten around the cord andthus prevents lenthening of the external loop.
 10. A device as claimedin claim 5, wherein there is further provided a hook member integralwith said body portion and adapted to be capable, in use, of cooperatingwith said body portion to support said external loop.